Introduction to Modern Humanism, part 3: Renaissance Precursors
Renaissance Humanism was a devotion to learning, focusing mostly on philosophy, languages and the arts in the 15th and 16th centuries. The term "Humanist" originally referred to Renaissance Humanists and was used to describe Renaissance scholars who worked at translating the rediscovered writings of ancient Greek and Roman civilization in order to make them universally available. The "scholastics", the official apologists for Christianity, opposed the Renaissance Humanists because they feared that these efforts would undermine their religion. "Humanitas", the Roman ideal coined by Cicero that emphasized human decency, noble actions, morality and respect, became a central element in European culture during the Renaissance. Renaissance Humanism was not Modern Humanism, but the intellectual and artistic development during this period marked a greater interest in human concerns and less interest in the divine. Many, although not all, Renaissance Humanists were forerunners of Modern Humanism.
(The Renaissance also contributed to the development of an entirely different movement called Christian Humanism, based on the idea put forth by Dante, and then later Erasmus, that human charity is more important than church rituals. Although Christian Humanism also seeks improvement of the human condition in this life, it does so only within the confines of Christian theology, and so won't be discussed any further here. For more information, I recommend the Secular Web's debate titled Secular Humanism vs. Christian Humanism: Which is the Superior World View?, especially the "Question and Answer Period".)
Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) was a poet whose passion for the rediscovered classical Greek and Roman writings spread to hundreds of his followers. In addition to better literary form, classical literature exposed them to a freer, human-centered conception of life that emphasized beauty, human emotions, and the intellect.
During the Peasants Revolt of 1524-1526 in Germany, a popular folk song was written in opposition to persecution for freethinking and in support of freedom. It was called Die Gedanken Sind Frei, which means "thoughts are free." German Freethinkers who formed "the free congregations" later imported the song to the US in 1859.
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592) was a French writer and skeptic who became fascinated with the writings of Pyrrho and Sextus Empiricus. It is unclear whether or not he rejected his Roman Catholic upbringing, but he challenged religious dogma, and the concept of faith.
Artistic themes during the Renaissance became less religious and more closely resembled objects in nature, while the new theatre of playwrights such as Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593), and William Shakespeare (1564-1616), displayed a greater interest in themes about human nature. Marlowe, well known for his derision of Biblical beliefs, was charged with heresy in 1593, but before he could be punished he was killed in a bar fight.
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